How 2020 Pressed Fast Forward on the Streaming Wars

As 2020 began, media giants were aggressively buying and stockpiling content for new online video services in the multibillion-dollar competition known as the streaming wars. Then the new coronavirus hit, cinemas closed, Hollywood temporarily shut down and everyone grabbed a remote, finding comfort or mere distraction in the entertainment offerings that unspool in a continuous flow of data over high-speed connections. A year already destined to be volatile for the industry suddenly hit fast forward on the future.

Four of the most valuable companies in the S&P 500 launched streaming services just in time to divert and entertain locked-down Americans: Disney+, Apple TV+, Peacock from Comcast Corp. and HBO Max from AT&T Inc. They joined established players Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu. Quibi, a startup offering original short-form programming, also entered the market in April, and ViacomCBS Inc. plans a makeover for its CBS All Access service. Netflix, with 183 million subscribers globally, remains the one to beat. Rivals hope that by nabbing the rights to binge- worthy programs, such as “Friends” and “The Office,” and plowing money into new exclusive content, they’ll quickly catch up.